


My Top 10 Favorite Damon/Elena Moments (seasons one - three)

by badboy_fangirl



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 19:44:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10793493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badboy_fangirl/pseuds/badboy_fangirl
Summary: Title self-explanatory





	My Top 10 Favorite Damon/Elena Moments (seasons one - three)

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=hands.gif)

For any of you that know me, you know my emotions are VERY HIGH AND VERY VOLATILE when it comes to Damon and Elena. I love them _liek whoa_ and I'm hard-pressed not to word vomit about them every day of my life. So this process was difficult and changing constantly, right up until the moment of commitment. Picking my Top 10 Moments for them in three seasons is probably the hardest thing I've ever done, fandomly speaking. Being a fangirl is hard, hard work.

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/?action=view&current=godownship.png)

**[10] _...Mysterious Stranger Who Has All the Answers..._  
[3x22 "The Departed"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DE1stMeet07.gif)

In the end, I was surprised I picked this moment. There's a bit of cheesiness to it, which is unlike most other Damon and Elena moments, but ultimately the reason it had to be chosen is because their chemistry is instantaneous. Neither of them are entirely the people they will be when they fall in love, but it's still massively interesting to see them with no history, with no idea of anything. They just connect, like they will again in 1x03, but right now, Damon's not playing a part, so the purity of their exchange is wonderful. And Elena, like always, cuts right through to the heart of it, making Damon question things he's put off for 145 years. It's the beginning of an epic relationship, regardless of where they end up.

**[9] _Sorry You Can't Come, Too, Stef._  
[2x03 "Bad Moon Rising"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=podamon.gif)

This scene has long been a favorite of mine because of how _mean_ Elena is here. She's generally always kind, and certainly never this purposefully provoking, so this is a grand departure for her. I think this was the first time I realized that underneath it all, Elena is very like Damon, which is why she does what she does. She wants to hurt him, she wants to get him good and she knows—after that drunken confession, and everything else that's happened between them, that this is the nastiest thing she can do. Rubbing Stefan in his face is just ... so great. Plus it never fails to amuse me that Stefan doesn't get it. If my sig other ever kissed me in front of someone else that we both knew was in love with my sig other, it would not be a victory. I mean, the way she looks at Damon before she plants one on Stefan—just, gah. So much passion. And it's not directed at the person she's kissing!

**[8] _Yes. Yes, I Knew._  
[2x18 "The Last Dance"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DE2x18.gif)

I do enjoy a good Elena-smacks-Damon scene and this is my favorite. I think the reason I like it the most is because he deserves it (and so he takes it) for putting her safety above everyone's with no regard to how she feels about it; but irony of ironies, he doesn't deserve it at the same time, because of course he and Bonnie had cooked up a plan just to make it look like Bonnie's dead, and they didn't tell her for a good reason. But what gives me all the feels is Elena's teary face and her rage and how she doesn't hide anything. Really this is the epitome of Damon and Elena, even when it's dysfunctional and abusive (which let's face it, is most of the time). But it's who they are, and he's willing to take her abuse because he's not going to change his tactics, not one bit. (And what's even better? He tells her that—just to be clear.)

**[7] _What Are We Gonna Do?_  
[2x13 "Daddy Issues"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DE2x13.gif)

Oh, God, this scene. It's so small, but it's so SIGNIFICANT. Damon comes to see Uncle John, but John isn't there, so Elena ends up spilling her guts that John told Jenna the truth about her parentage. Damon hesitates, just a moment, asks Elena if she's okay, and she has her moment where she realizes, yeah, yeah, she's fine. But then the best part — the Team Work that becomes a part of everything they are is in her very next line: _What are **we** gonna do?_ Of course, Damon intends to handle it himself, but Elena storms the door after him and tags along. And he lets her, because really, that's what Damon wants—Elena on his team. I will never not love her galloping after him. *sigh*

**[6] _Take It From Me, Estranged is Bad, Dead is Worse._  
[3x10 "The New Deal"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DEnewdeal.gif)

This scene, from top to bottom, for me is the epitome of what they can be like when they are functioning. When communications are good, when everyone's being forthright, and even though part of their conversation is a justification of something bad they just did (together!), it's honest. This is who they both are—the type of person who will take away the agency of someone they love when it seems like the best option. Elena _is_ Damon. Damon _is_ Elena. They are so alike, it's scary. But, my favorite part, apart from the kiss that surprised me so much, is Damon telling Elena the truth about Stefan. I love that when she starts to thank him for being her rock, when he can see her truly believing in the goodness in him, his retreat is behind Stefan. This is two-fold: if she believes good things about him, then she has to know everything about Stefan; he can't have her thinking he's better than his brother in anyway. The other part, though, is just plain old Damon. Just being afraid of anyone thinking well of him, even though he desperately wants her good will and faith and love. It's so tragic, and romantic. Then, on top of that is Elena's longing for him. The way she holds herself so stiffly when he walks away, the regret in her expression. And then, then he just turns around and throws caution to the wind, and really, really, REALLY takes her breath away. And it's so glorious.

**[5] _Damon, Don't. What's Wrong With You?_  
[2x01 "The Return"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DE02-1.gif)

This is a line of dialogue that has always perplexed me—Elena asking Damon _what's wrong with you?_ Wouldn't a better question, at this stage of the game, be _what's right with Damon?_ I mean, it's just so odd that she asks him that. In the middle of his drunken declaration that can be interpreted so many ways—(is Damon right? Is Elena lying at this point? I mean, I've always been convinced that she has romantic feelings for him long before this point, but I don't think she'd ever act on them. Her loyalty to Stefan is 100%, that I never doubt)—but it just feels so panicky on her part—almost, perhaps, a self-examination? At any rate, this scene—UGH. I mean, it destroys everything at the same time it sort of opens up a plethora of possibilities. If Elena ever forgives Damon for killing Jeremy, if Elena ever doesn't hate him after this, really that's everything. That's all the hope you'll ever need for them, because it's just so awful, it's just so unforgivable, even if Jeremy doesn't die permanently. It isn't just about the depth and breadth of Elena's compassion, it's also about her innate understanding of Damon. Even the things he doesn't let her remember that she knows.

**[4] _I Wanted It To Be Real._  
[1x14 "Fool Me Once"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=Real.gif)

This sentiment from Damon is especially poignant going into the fact that he (and the audience) is about to learn that what he had with Katherine was not real, not at all. This has always been one of my favorite scenes (and episodes) for a lot of reasons, but it's more meaningful by the end of S3 when we see the flashback to Damon and Elena's first meeting. Their first meeting is pure: it's just about them, it's just the instant chemistry thing that they've always had. But by the time Damon meets Elena again, she is Stefan's girlfriend, and thus, she has become nothing but a pawn in Damon's game of 'Make Stefan's Life a Living Hell.' But then, again, Damon genuinely likes Elena by the time they go to Georgia together, and what he feels for her is separate from what he feels for Stefan. So, while what he does with Elena (stealing her away out of town) is meant to irritate Stefan, nothing that occurs with Elena during that time is for anyone's benefit but their own. Thus his explanation here: he wants what happens between them to be real. He's not trying to fabricate anything with her. I would surmise that while Damon genuinely likes Elena, he also likes how he feels when he's with her. He hasn't gone over into the knowledge of having a romantic interest in her here—he's hellbent on getting Katherine and riding off into the sunset (or the moonrise, as it were). But that's what's so great about Damon and Elena. They sneak up on each other. And it's _all_ real.

**[3] _Do You Trust Me? ... Yes._   
[3x09 "Homecoming"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DEhomecoming.gif)

*sigh* I mean, what can I say? This whole scene is a discussion they'll probably have again and again throughout their existence...she's a Petrova, so sometimes she acts like one, so like Damon, she has the _cajones_ to do what needs to be done. The level of trust between Damon and Elena here is so much more than his asking and her instantly answering him—it's about her wisely staying out of the fray for once. It's about him offering a plan, and keeping her completely in the loop so that she's willing to step out. It's another example of how when they're good, **they are so good.**

**[2] _You Don't Have To See Her If You Don't Want To._  
[1x21 "Isobel"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DE_NoChoice.gif)

This scene has always tugged at my heartstrings. For all that there is the constant juxtaposition of Damon usurping Elena's agency with Stefan's *granting* it (which in and of itself is insulting, but that's another meta discussion), this is the scene that most poignantly pops to mind. This isn't life and death (although it kinda is, since Isobel threatened to rain blood on the town), it's about the simple act of facing something that perhaps you don't want to. And Damon reminds Elena, for a split second, that she doesn't have to. The best part of the scene though is Stefan, noticing the quiet beat of understanding between his brother and his girl. Oh, Stefan, it's the beginning of the end, it really is.

**[1] _Why Don't You Let People See the Good in You?_  
[3x19 "Heart of Darkness"]**

[ ](http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v222/americanoutlaw/TVD/?action=view&current=DEepicmakeout.gif)

Have there ever been five more perfect moments of television ever? (Yes, this requires the use of the word *ever* twice in one sentence!) A friend of mine who doesn't even watch the show saw a clip from this episode and described it as "one satisfying make-out." But more satisfying for me than the actual kissing, groping, going-for-boobage-delightfulness is Elena finally embracing some of those crazy consuming emotions she feels for Damon. There's the way she watches him, and the way she tries to _stop_ watching him, and the way he accepts her silent invitation, and then how their epic lying-in-bed-together puts Elena over the edge just from a simple ineffectual hand-hold, which is just TOTAL PERFECTION. And I can't help but hope Damon's words are prophetic—he doesn't want to live up to anyone's expectations so maybe he'll be the one to teach Elena how it's done, or not done, as it were.

 

 **A note in closing:** No one can ever convince me they aren't the epic love story of this show, that they aren't the ones who'll spend their eternity together—sometimes working perfectly, other times emotionally and physically flaying each other. If Damon and Elena don't end up together, there's simply no justice in the world—fictional or otherwise.

[written post s3]


End file.
